CANONS of a SYNOD of PATRICK,
 AUXILIUS, and ISERNINUS;

Pl 53.823-826
^[0823] SYNODUS EPISCOPORUM PATRICII, AUXILII ISSERNINI. (C)

Here begins the Synod of the Bishops, that is, of Patrick, Auxilius, and Iserninus. We give thanks to God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. To the presbyters, the deacons, and the whole clergy, Patrick, Auxilius, Iserninus, bishops, send greeting:

Gratias agimus Deo Patri et Filio et Spiritui sancto. presbyteris et diaconibus et omni clero, Patricius, Auxilius et Isserninus episcopi, salutem.

It behoves us rather to admonish those who are negligent than to condemn the things that have been done, as Solomon says: “It is better to reprove than to be angry.” (Ecclus. 20:2. Cf. Coll. can. Hib., lxvi, 18) Copies of our decision are written below, and begin thus:

Satius nobis negligentes praemonere (quam) cuipare quae facta sunt, Salomone dicente: Melius est ^[0823D] arguere quam irasci (Eccli. XX, 1)  Exempla definitionis nostrae inferius conscripta sunt, et sic inchoant.

1.  If anyone for the redemption of a captive collects in the parish on his own authority, without permission, he deserves to be excommunicated. 

I. Si quis in quaestionem captivis quaesierit in plebe, suo jure, sine permissione, meruit excommunicari.

2.  Every reader shall become acquainted with the church in which he sings. 

II. Lectores denique cognoscant unusquisque ecclesiam in qua psallat.

3.  There shall be no wandering cleric in a parish. 

III. Clericus vagus non sit in plebe.

4.  If anyone receives permission, and the money has been collected, he shall not demand more than that which necessity requires. 

IV. Si quis permissionem acceperit, et collectum sit pretium, non plus exigat quam quod necessitas poscit.

5.  If anything is left over, he shall place it on the altar of the priest that it may be given to some needy person.

V. Si quid supra manserit, ponat super altare pontificis, ut detur alii indigenti.

6.  If any cleric, from sexton to priest, is seen without a tunic, and does not cover the shame and nakedness of his body; and if his hair is not shaven according to the Roman custom, and if his wife goes about with her head unveiled, he shall be alike despised by laymen and separated from the Church. 

VI. Quicunque clericus ab ostiario usque ad sacerdotem sine tunica visus fuerit, aut turpitudinem ventris et nuditatem non tegat; et si non more Romano capilli ejus tonsi sint, et uxor ejus si non velato capite ambulaverit, pariter a laicis contemnentur, et ab Ecclesia separentur.^[0824D]

7.  Any cleric, who, having been commanded, on account of negligence does not come to the assemblies of matins or vespers, shall be deemed a stranger, unless perchance he was detained in the yoke of servitude. 

VII. Quicunque clericus jussus negligentiae causa ad collectas mane vel vespere non occurrerit, alienus habeatur, nisi forte jugo servitutis sit detentus.

8.  If a cleric becomes surety for a pagan in any amount, and it turns out (which is not strange), that through some craftiness that pagan fails the cleric, the cleric shall pay the debt with his own property; for if he fights with him in arms, he shall be justly reckoned to be outside the Church.

VIII. Clericus si pro gentili homine fideijussor fuerit in quacunque quantitate, et si contigerit (quod mirum non potest) per astutiam aliquam, gentilis ille clerico fallat rebus suis; clericus ille solvat debitum: nam si armis compugnaverit cum illo, merito extra Ecclesiam computetur.

9.  A monk and a virgin, the one from one place, the other from another, shall not dwell together in the same inn, nor travel in the same carriage from village to village, nor continually hold conversation with each other. 

IX. Monachus et virgo, unus ab hinc, et alia ab aliunde, in uno hospitio non commaneant, nec in uno curru a villa in villam discurrant, nec assidue invicem confabulationem exerceant.^[0825A]

10.  If anyone has shown the beginning of a good work in psalm singing and has now ceased, and lets his hair grow, he is to be excluded from the Church unless he restores himself to his former condition. 

X. Si inceptum boni operis ostenderit in psallendo, et comam habeat, ab Ecclesia excludendus, nisi statui priori se restituerit.

11.  If any cleric has been excommunicated by someone, and another receives him, both shall alike exercise penance. 

XI. Quicunque clericus ab aliquo excommunicatus fuerit et alius eum susceperit, ambo coaequali poenitentia utantur.

12.  Alms shall not be accepted from any Christian who has been excommunicated. 

XII. Quicunque Christianus excommunicatus fuerit, nec ejus eleemosyna recipiatur.

13.  It is not permitted to the Church to accept alms from pagans. 

XIII. Eleemosynam a gentibus offerendam in ecclesiam recipi non licet.

14.  A Christian who slays, or commits fornication, or in the manner of the pagans consults a diviner, for each single offense shall do penance for a year. At the completion of a year of penance he shall come with witnesses and afterwards be absolved by the priest. 

XIV. Christianus qui occiderit, aut fornicationem fecerit, aut more gentilium ad aruspicem meaverit; per singula crimina annum poenitentiae agat: impleto, cum testibus veniat anno poenitentiae, et postea resolvetur a sacerdote.^[0825B]

15.  He who commits theft shall do penance for half a year, twenty days on bread [and water], and if it can be done, he shall restore the stolen goods; so shall he be denied [admission] into the Church. 

XV. Et qui furtum fecerit, dimidium poeniteat, viginti diebus cum pane; et si fieri potest, rapta repraesentet: sic in Ecclesiam renuetur.

16.  A Christian who believes that there is a vampire in the world, that is to say, a witch, is to be anathematized; whoever lays that reputation upon a living being, shall not be received into the Church until he revokes with his own voice the crime that he has committed and accordingly does penance with all diligence. 

XVI. Christianus qui crediderit esse Lamiam in speculo, quae interpretatur Striga, anathematizandus, quicunque super animam, famam istam imposuerit; nec ante in Ecclesiam recipiendus quam ut idem criminis quod fecit, sua iterum voce revocet: et sic poenitentiam cum omni diligentia agat.

17.  A virgin who has taken the vow to God to remain chaste and afterwards marries a husband in the flesh shall be excommunicate until she is converted: if she has been converted and desists from her adultery she shall do penance, and thereafter they shall not dwell in the same house or in the same village. 

XVII. Virgo quae voverit Deo permanet casta, et postea nupserit carnalem sponsum, excommunionis sit donec convertatur. Si conversa fuerit, et dimiserit adulterium, poenitentiam agat, et postea non in una domo nec in una villa habitent.

18.  If anyone is excommunicate he shall not enter a church, not even on the eve of Easter, until he accepts a penance. 

XVIII. Si quis excommunionis fuerit, nec nocte ^[0825C] pascharum in ecclesiam (non) introeat, donec poenitentiam recipiat.

19.  A Christian woman who takes a man in honorable marriage and afterwards forsakes her first husband and is joined to an adulterer --she who does this shall be excommunicate. 

XIX. Mulier Christiana quae acceperit virum honestis nuptiis, et postmodum discesserit a primo, et junxerit se adulterio, quae haec fecit, excommunionis sit.

20.  A Christian who defrauds anyone with respect to a debt in the manner of the pagans, shall be excommunicated until he pays the debt.

XX. Christianus qui fraudat debitum cujuslibet ritu gentilium, excommunionis sit donec solvat debitum.

21.  A Christian to whom someone has defaulted and who brings  him to judgment, not to the church so that the case may there be investigated--whoever does this shall be an alien. 

XXI. Christianus cui dereliquerit aliquis, et provocat eum in ductum et non in ecclesiam, ut ibi examinetur causa, qui sic fecerit alienus sit.

22.  If anyone gives his daughter in honorable marriage, and she loves another, and he yields to his daughter and receives the marriage payment, [lit “bride-price”] both shall be shut out of the Church. 

XXII. Si quis tradiderit filiam suam viro honestis nuptiis, et amaverit alium et consentit filiae suae, et acceperit dotem, ambo ab Ecclesia excludantur.^[0825D]

23.  If anyone of the presbyters builds a church, he shall not offer [the sacrifice in it] before he brings his bishop that he may consecrate it; for this is proper. 

XXIII. Si quis presbyterorum ecclesiam aedificaverit, non offerat antequam adducat suum pontificem, ut eam consecret, quia sic decet.

24.  If a new incumbent enters the parish he shall not baptize, nor offer, nor consecrate, nor build a church until he receives permission from the bishop; but whoever seeks permission from the tribesmen shall be an alien. 

XXIV. Si quis advena ingressus fuerit plebem, ^[0826A] non ante baptizet neque offerat, nec consecret, nec ecclesiam aedificet, nec permissionem accipiat ab episcopo; nam qui a gentibus sperat permissionem, alienus sit.

25.  If any things have been given by religious men on those days in which the bishop sojourns in the several churches, the disposition of the pontifical gifts, as is the ancient custom, shall appertain to the bishop, whether for necessary use or for distribution to the poor, as the bishop himself may determine. 

XXV. Si quae a religiosis hominibus donata fuerint, diebus illis quibus pontifex in singulis habitaverit ecclesiis, pontificialia dona, sicut mos antiquus, ordinare, ad episcopum pertinebunt, sive ad usum necessarium, sive egentibus distribuendum, prout ipse episcopus moderabit.

26.  But if any cleric contravenes this and is caught seizing the gifts, he shall be separated from the Church as one greedy of filthy lucre. (I Tim. 3:8; Titus 1:7, 11; I Peter 5:2)

XXVI. Si quis vero clericus contravenerit, et dona invadere fuerit deprehensus, ut turpis lucri cupidus ab Ecclesia sequestretur.

27.  Any cleric who has recently entered the parish of a bishop is not permitted to baptize and offer, nor to do anything: if he does not act accordingly he shall be excommunicate. 

XXVII. Clericus episcopi in plebe quislibet novus ingressor, baptizare et offerre illum non licet, nec ^[0826B] aliquid agere: qui si sic non faciat, excommunionis sit.

28.  If one of the clerics is excommunicate, he shall make his prayer alone, not in the same house with his brethren, and he may not offer or consecrate until he has corrected himself. If he does not act accordingly he shall be doubly punished. 

XXVIII. Si quis clericorum excommunionis fuerit solus, non in eadem domo cum aliis orationem faciat; nec offerre nec conservare licet, donec se faciat emendatum; qui si sic non fecerit, dupliciter vindicetur.

29.  If anyone of the brothers [i.e unbaptized members of community] wishes to receive the grace of God, he shall not be baptized until he has done [penance for] a period of forty days.

XXIX. Si quis fratrum accipere gratiam Dei voluerit, non ante baptizetur quam quadragesimum agat.

30.  Any bishop who passes from his own into another parish shall not presume to ordain, unless he receives permission from him who has authority there; however, on Sunday he may offer according to arrangement, and he shall be satisfied with compliance in this matter. 

XXX. Episcopus quislibet qui de sua in alteram progreditur parochiam, nec ordinare praesumat, nisi permissionem acceperit ab eo qui in suo principatu est; die dominica offerat tantum susceptione, et obsequi hic contentus sit.

31.  If one of two clerics who, as it happens, are in conflict over some disagreement hires an enemy who has offered himself to one of them to slay [the other], it is fitting that he be called a murderer. Such a cleric is to be held an alien to all righteous men.

XXXI. Si quis conduxerit e duobus clericis quos ^[0826C] discordare convenit per discordiam aliquam, prolatum uni e duobus hostem ad interficiendum homicidam congruum est nominari; qui clericus ab omnibus rectis habetur alienus.

32.  If one of the clerics wishes to aid a captive he shall succour him with his own money; for if he delivers him by stealth many clerics are railed against on account of one thief. He who so acts shall be excommunicate. 

XXXII. Si quis clericorum voluerit juvare captivo, cum suo pretio illi subveniat: nam si per furtum illum inviolaverit, blasphemantur multi clerici per unum latronem; qui sic fecerit, excommunionis sit.

33.  A cleric who comes to us from the Britons without a certificate, even if he dwells in the parish, is not permitted to minister. 

XXXIII. Clericus qui de Britannis ad nos venit sine epistola, etsi habitet in plebe, non licitum ministrare.

34.  With us, likewise, a deacon who departs into another parish, not having consulted his abbot and without letters, ought not to distribute food, and he ought to be punished with penance by his own presbyter whom he has despised. And a monk who goes wandering without consulting his abbot ought to be punished.

XXXIV. Diaconus nobiscum similiter, qui inconsulto suo abbate, sine litteris in aliam parochiam assentiat, nec cibum ministrare decet: et a suo presbytero ^[0826D] quem contempsit, per poenitentiam vindicetur: et monachus inconsulto abbate vagulus debet vindicari.

Here end the determinations of the Synod. 

Finiunt synodi instituta.

CANONS OF THE ALLEGED
SECOND SYNOD OF PATRICK

PL 53.817-822
SYNODUS S. PATRICII (C,S)

1.  Of dwelling with sinful brethren.

CAPUT PRIMUM. De habitatione cum fratribus peccatoribus.

Concerning what you have commanded with respect to dwelling among sinful brethren, hearken unto the Apostle who says: “With such an one not so much as to eat.” (I Cor. 5:11) Thou shalt not partake of his food with him. Likewise if thou art an ox and treadest out the corn, that is, if thou art a teacher and teachest: “Thou shalt not muzzle the ox,” (Deut. 25:4; I Cor. 9:9) and: “Thou art worthy   of thy reward,”; (I Tim. 5:18) but “Let not the oil of the sinner fatten thy head.” (Ps. 140:5) But thus far rebuke and chastise. (Cf. Ps. 93:10)

De eo quod mandastis, de habitatione cum fratribus peccatoribus, audite Apostolum dicentem: Cum hujusmodi ne cibum quidem sumere (I Cor. V, 11); non ejus escas sumas cum eo. Caeterum si bos sis et trituras, hoc est, si doctor es et doces, non obturatur tibi os (I Cor. IX, 9), et dignus es mercede tua (Luc. X, 7)  Sed oleum peccatoris non impinguet caput tuum (Psal. CXL, 5): sed corripe adhuc et argue.^[0819A]

2.  Of their offerings.

CAPUT II. De oblationibus eorum.

Be content with thy clothing and food; reject other things that are the gifts of the wicked since the lamp takes nothing but that by which it is fed. 

Contentus tegmento et alimento tuo, caetera dona iniquorum reproba (Eccli. XXXIV, 23), quia non sumit lucerna nisi quod alitur.

3.  Of penance after fall.

CAPUT III. De poenitentia post ruinas.

It is determined that the abbot give attention to the matter of those to whom he assigns the power of binding and loosing; but more fitting is pardon, according to the examples of the Scripture. If with weeping and lamentation and a garment of grief, under control, a short penance [is more desirable] than a long one, and a penance relaxed with moderation. 

Statuitur ut abbas videat cui attribuetur potestas alligandi et solvendi; sed aptior est, juxta Scripturae exempla, veniam. Si vero cum fletu et lamentatione et lugubri cum veste, sub custodia poenitentia brevis, quam longa et remissa cum temperamentis.

4.  Of the rejection of the excommunicated.

CAPUT IV. De excommunicato repellendo.

Hearken unto the Lord when he saith: “If he will not hear thee let him be [to thee] as the heathen and the publican.” Thou shalt not curse, but thou shalt reject an excommunicated person from communion and from the table and from the Mass and from the Pax; and if he is a heretic, after one admonition avoid him. (Titus 3:10)

Audi Dominum dicentem: Si tibi non audierit, sit tibi velut gentilis et publicanus (Matth. XVIII, 37)  Non maledices, sed repelles excommunicatum a communione et mensa, et missa et pace. Et si haereticus est, ^[0819B] post unam correptionem devita (Tit. III, 10)

5.  Of suspected cases.

CAPUT V. De suspectis causis.

Hearken unto the Lord when he saith: “Suffer both to grow until the harvest,” (Matt. 13:30) that is, “until he cometh who will make manifest the counsels of the hearts,” (I Cor. 4:5) that thou make not judgment before the Day of Judgment. Behold Judas at the table of the Lord, and the thief in paradise. 

Audi Dominum dicentem: Sinite utraque crescere usque ad messem (Matth. XIII, 30), hoc est, donec veniet qui manifestabit consilia cordium (I Cor. IV, 5), ne judicium ante diem judicii facias. Vide Judam ad mensam Domini, et latronem in paradiso.

6.  Of the punishments of the Church.

CAPUT VI. De vindictis Ecclesiae.

Hearken again unto the Lord when he saith, “Whosoever shall shed innocent blood, his blood shall be shed:” (Gen. 9:6) but [it is to be shed] by him who carries the sword; moreover, the chief magistrate is held innocent in punishment. Of others, however, [the matter is determined] by the evangelical law, from that place in which it says: “And of him that taketh   away thy goods, ask them not again.” (Luke 6:30) But, if he restores anything, gladly receive it in humility. 

Audi item Dominum dicentem: Qui effuderit sanguinem innocentem, sanguis ipsius effundetur (Gen. IX, 6), sed ab eo qui portat gladium dictatur, aut vindictae innocens habetur. De caeteris autem per legem evangelicam, ab eo loco in quo ait: Et eum qui ^[0819C] aufert aliquid a te, ne repetas (Luc. VI, 30), sed libenter; si ipse quid referat, humiliter recipias.

7.  Of questions concerning baptism.

CAPUT VII. De baptismatis incertis.

They determine that those who have received the tradition of the symbol be not rebaptized, from whomsoever they have received it, since the seed is not defiled by the wickedness of the sower. But if they have not received it, it is not rebaptism, but baptism. We believe that those who have lapsed from the faith are not to be absolved unless they are received with imposition of hands. 

Statuunt ne rebaptizati (sint) qui symboli traditione a quocunque acceperunt, quia non inficit semen seminantis iniquitas. Sin vero, non est rebaptizare, sed baptizare. Non absolvendos autem lapsos a fide credamus, nisi per impositionem manus accepi.

8.  Of accused persons taken from a church.

CAPUT VIII. De reis autem abstractis ab Ecclesia.

A church is not made for the defense of accused persons; but judges ought to be persuaded that they would slay with spiritual death those who flee to the bosom of mother Church. 

Non ad reorum defensionem facta est Ecclesia, sed judicibus persuadendum est, ut spiritali morte eos occiderent, qui ad sinum matris Ecclesiae confugiunt.

CAPUT IX.

9.  Of those who have fallen after attaining to clerical rank.

CAPUT X. De lapsis post gradum.

Hearken to the canonical institutes. Whoever falls when he has clerical rank shall arise without rank. Content with the name [of cleric] alone, he shall lose his ministry; except that when he sins in the sight of God alone, he does not withdraw [from his ministry].

Audi canonica instituta: Qui cum gradu cecidit, sine gradu surgat: contentus nomine tantum, amittat ^[0820A] ministerium, nisi qui tantum a conspectu Domini peccans non recessit.

[No. 10 is lacking.]

(Desideratur.)^[0819D]

10.  Of the separation of the sexes after fall.

CAPUT XI. De separatione sexuum post lapsum.

 Each one shall consider in his conscience whether the love and desire of sin have ceased, since a dead body does not harm another dead body; if this is not the case they shall be separated. 

Consideret unusquisque in conscientia sua si amor et desiderium cessavit peccati; quia corpus mortuum non inficit corpus alterius mortui. Sin vero, separentur.

11.  Of offering for the dead.

CAPUT XII. De oblatione pro defunctis.

Hearken unto the Apostle when he saith: “There is a sin unto death, for that I say not that any man ask.” (I John. 5:16) And [to] the Lord: “Give not that which is holy to dogs.” (Matt. 7:6) For he who did not in his life deserve to receive the sacrifice, how shall it be able to help him after death? 

Audi Apostolum dicentem: Est autem peccatum ad mortem, non pro illo dico, ut roget quis (I Joan. V, 16)  Et Dominus: Nolite donare sanctum canibus (Matth. VII, 6)  Qui enim in vita sua sacrificium non merebitur accipere, quomodo post mortem illi poterit adjuvare?

12.  Of the sacrifice.

CAPUT XIII. De sacrificio. ^[0820B]

On the eve of Easter, [even] if it is permissible to carry it outside, it is not to be carried outside, but brought down to the faithful. What else signifies it that the Lamb is taken in one house, (cf. Exod. 12:3-4) but that Christ is believed and communicated under one roof of faith? 

In nocte paschae, si fas est ferre foras. Non foras fertur, sed fidelibus deferatur. Quid aliud significat, quod in una domo sumitur agnus, quam sub uno fidei culmine creditur et communicatur Christus?

13.  Of votive or legal abstinence from food.

CAPUT XIV. De abstinenti...... a cibis.

It is established that after the coming of Christ the Bridegroom, he shall set forth no fixed laws of fasting. But the difference between the Novationists and the Christians is that whereas a Novationist abstains continually, a Christian does so for a time only, that place, time, and person should in all things be regarded.

Statutum ut Christi adventum sponsi nullas ratas leges inveniat jejunii. Quid autem inter Novatianum et Christianum interest, nisi quod Novatianus indesinenter, Christianus vero per tempus abstineat? ut locus, et tempus, et persona per omnia observetur.

14.  Of leaving or of teaching one’s own country.

CAPUT XV. De relinquenda vel docenda patria.

One’s country is first to be taught, after the example of Christ; and afterwards if it does not make progress, it is to be abandoned, according to the example of the Apostle. But he who is able to do it may take the risk, teach and show himself everywhere; he who is not able, let him be silent and depart. One, you recall, is sent by Jesus to his own house; another is commanded to follow Him. (Luke 8:39; Matt. 9:9)

Docenda patria prius per exemplum Domini, et derelinquenda postea, si non proficiat, juxta exemplum ^[0820C] Apostoli. Sed qui potest proficere, licet periclitatur, ubique doceat, et se ostendat; qui vero non potest, taceat et abscondat: alius quippe ab Jesu in domum suam mittitur, alius sequi jubetur.

15.  Of false bishops.

CAPUT XVI. De falsis episcopis.

He who is not chosen by another bishop, according to the Apostle, is to be condemned; thereafter he is to be deposed and degraded to [the status of] the rest of the people. 

Qui non secundum Apostolum electus est ab altero episcopo, est damnandus; et deinde ad reliquam plebem declinandus et degradandus.

16.  Of the provost of the monks.

CAPUT XVII. De proposito monachorum.

There are monks who dwell as solitaries without worldly resources, under the power of a bishop or an abbot. But they are not [really] monks, only pretenders to philosophy, that is, despisers of the world. Each one ought to be drawn to the perfect life in mature age, that is, from twenty years, not in witnessing to, but in fulfilling, his vow: as saith this [passage], “Let each do as he hath purposed in his heart,” (Cf. 2 Cor. 9:7) and, “That I shall render my vows in the sight of the Lord,” and so forth. With whatever vow he is bound, the location of places limits it, if excess is to be avoided in all things in life; for they are called in cold and nakedness, in hunger and thirst, in vigils and fasts.

Monachi sunt qui solitarii sine terrenis opibus habitant sub potestate episcopi vel abbatis. Non autem monachi, sed Vactro periti, hoc est, contemptores solliciti ad vitam perfectam in aetate perfecta. Hoc est, ^[0820D] a viginti annis debet unusquisque constringi non attestando, sed voto perficiendo, ut est illud: Unusquisque sicut proposuit corde suo (I Cor. VII, 37) faciat, et ut Vota mea reddam in conspectu Domini (Psal. CXV, 14, 18), et reliqua: quo voto vivitur, situs locorum ^[0821A] coarctat: si superabundantia, in omnibus devitetur in vita; quia (II Cor. XI, 27) in frigore et nuditate, in fame et siti, in vigiliis et jejuniis vocati sunt.

17.  Of the three seeds of the Gospels.

CAPUT XVIII. De tribus seminibus Evangeliorum.

(Cf. Matt. 13:8) The “hundredfold” are the bishops and teachers, who are all things to all men. The “sixtyfold” are the clergy and widows who are continent. The “thirtyfold” the lay folk who are faithful, who perfectly believe in the Trinity. Beyond these there is nought in the harvest of the Lord. Monks and virgins we combine with the “hundredfold.” (Cf. Jerome, let. 133. 8. Cf. let. 22. 15; 57. 2; 46) 

Centesimum (Matth. XIII, 8, 23) episcopi et doctores, qui omnibus omnia sunt; sexagesimum, clerici et viduae qui continentes sunt; trigesimum, laici qui fideles sunt, qui perfecte Trinitatem credunt. His amplius non est in messe Domini; monachos vero et virgines cum centesimis jungimus.

18.  Of the proper age for baptism.

CAPUT XIX. Qua aetate baptizandi.

On the eighth day they are catechumens; thereafter they are baptized in the solemn feast days of the Lord, that is at Easter, Pentecost, and Epiphany. 

Octavo die catechumeni sunt, postea solemnitatibus ^[0821B] Domini baptizantur, id est, Pascha, Pentecoste et Epiphania.

19.  Of parishes.

CAPUT XX. De parochiis.

We are not to speak with the monks whose wickedness is unusual, we who not improperly maintain the unity of the parish. 

Cum monachis non est dicendum quorum malum est inauditum, qui unitatem vero plebis non incongrue suscepimus.

20.  Of monks to be retained or dismissed.

CAPUT XXI. De retinendis vel dimittendis monachis.

Let every one enjoy his fruit in the church in which he has been instructed, unless the cause of greater success requires that he bear to another’s [church] the permit of his abbot (?).If, indeed, there appears a weightier cause, it shall be said with blessing: “Behold the Lamb of God,” (John 1:36) each one seeking not the things that are his own but those which are Jesus Christ’s. (Cf. Phil. 2:21)  But they do not permit their subjects to run about on the claim of a vocation. 

Unusquisque fructum suum in Ecclesia in qua imbutus est perfruatur, nisi causa majoris profectus ad ultoris ferre permisso abbatis cogat. Si vero exierit, causa utilior cum benedictione dicatur, Ecce Agnus Dei, non quae sua sunt singuli quaerentes, sed quae Jesu Christi (Philipp. II, 21)  Vocationis autem ^[0821C] causam non permittant subditos discurrere.

21.  Of taking the Eucharist after a fall.

CAPUT XXII. De sumenda Eucharistia post lapsum.

After a proving of the flesh it is to be taken, but especially on the eve of Easter; for he who does not communicate at that time is not a believer. Therefore short and limited are the seasons for such persons, lest the faithful soul perish, famished by so long a time of correction, for the Lord saith: “Except you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, you shall not have life in you.” (John 6:54)

Post examinationem carceris sumenda est, maxime autem in nocte Paschae, in qua qui non communicat, fidelis non est. Ideo brevia sunt et stricta apud eos spatia, ne anima fidelis intereat tanto tempore jejuna medicinae, Domino dicente: Nisi manducaveritis carnem Filii hominis, non habebitis vitam in vobis (Joan. VI, 54)

22.  Of taking an oath.

CAPUT XXIII. De juramento.

”Swear not at all.” (Matt. 5:34)Following from this, the series of the lection teaches that no other creature is to be sworn by, none but the Creator, as is the custom of the prophet: “The Lord liveth,” (I Kings (I Samuel in A.V.) 25:26) and “My soul liveth,” and “The Lord liveth in whose sight I stand.” (III Kings (I Kings in A. V.) 17:1) But there is “an end of controversy” (Heb. 6:16) unless [the oath is] by the Lord. For by all that a man loves, by this does he make oath.

Non jurare omnino (Matth. V, 34)  De hoc consequente lectionis series docet, non adjurandam esse creaturam aliam, nisi creatorem: ut prophetis mos ^[0821D] est: Vivit Dominus et vivit anima mea (IV Reg. II, 2, 4, 6); et: Vivit Dominus cui assisto hodie (III Reg. XVIII, 15)  Finis autem contradictionis est nisi Domino. Omne enim quod amat homo, hoc et juratur.

23.  Of the contention of two without witnesses.

CAPUT XXIV. De contentione duorum absque testibus.

They determine that before he takes communion he who is being approved shall testify by the four holy gospels, and then he shall be left to the judgment of fire.

Statuunt ut per quatuor sancta Evangelia, ante ^[0822A] quam communicet, testatur quid probatur, et deinde sub judice fama relinquatur.

24. Of the bed of a dead brother.

CAPUT XXV. De toro fratris defuncti

Hear the decree of the synod: “A surviving brother shall not enter the bed of a dead brother.” For the Lord saith: “and they shall be two in one flesh”: (Gen. 2:24) therefore the wife of thy brother is thy sister.

Audi decreta synodi super istis. Frater torum defuncti fratris non ascendat, Domino dicente: Erunt duo in carne una (Gen. II, 24)  Ergo uxor fratris soror tua est.

25. Of a Prostitute wife.

CAPUT XXVI De meretrice conjuge.

Hearken unto the Lord when he saith: “He who is joined to a harlot is made one body.” (I Cor. 6:16) Also, “An adulteress shall be stoned; (Lev. 20:10; Deut. 22:22) that is, she shall die for this fault, that she may cease to increase who does not cease to commit adultery. Further, if a woman has become corrupted, does she return to her former husband? (Cf. Jer. 3:1) Moreover, it is not permitted to a man to put away his wife, except because of fornication (Cf. Matt. 19:9) --and if he says it is for that reason: hence, if he marries another, as if after death of the former, [authorities] do not forbid it. 

Audi Dominum dicentem: Qui adhaeret meretrici, unum corpus efficitur (I Cor. VI, 16)  Item: Adultera lapidetur (Lev. XX, 10; Deut. XXII, 22); id est, huic vitio moriatur, ut desinat crescere quae non ^[0822B] desinit moechari. Item: Si adulterata fuerit mulier, nunquid revertitur ad virum suum priorem (Jer. III, 1)? Item: Non licet viro dimittere uxorem, nisi ob causam fornicationis (Matth. V, 32; XIX, 9): ac si dicat, ob hanc causam. Unde si ducat alteram velut post mortem prioris, non vetunt.

26. Of the will of the maiden or of the father in marriage.

CAPUT XXVII. De voluntate virginis vel patris, in conjugio.

What the father wishes, the maiden shall do, since the head of the woman is the man. (Eph. 5:23. Cf. I Cor. 11:3) But the will of the maiden is to be inquired after by the father, since “God left man in the hand of his own counsel.” (Ecclus. 15:14)

Quod vult pater, faciat virgo, quia caput mulieris vir (I Cor. XI, 3)  Sed requirenda est a patre voluntas virginis, dum Deus relinquit hominem in manibus consilii sui (Eccli. XV, 14)

27. Of the first or the second vows.

CAPUT XXVIII. De primis vel secundis votis. ^[0822C]

First vows and first marriages are to be observed in the same way, that the first be not made void for the second, unless they have been stained with adultery. 

Eadem ratione observanda sunt prima vota, et prima conjugia, aut secundis prima non sint irrita, nisi fuerint adulterata.

28. Of consanguinity in marriage.

CAPUT XXIX. De consanguinitate in conjugio.

Understand what the Law saith, not less nor more: but what is observed among us, that they be separated by four degrees, they say they have neither seen nor read.

Intelligite quid lex loquitur, non minus nec plus. Quod autem observatur apud nos, ut quatuor genera dividantur, nec vidisse dicunt nec legisse.

29.  Of the assertion of customs.

CAPUT XXX. De vindicandis assuetis.

What is never forbidden is permitted. Truly the laws of the Jubilee are to be observed, that is, the fifty years, that a doubtful method be not established in the change of time. And therefore every business transaction is confirmed by subscription.

Nunquam vetitus licet: verum observandae sunt leges jubilaei, hoc est quinquaginta anni ut non affirmentur incerta veterato temporis. Et ideo omnes negotia subscriptione Romanorum confirmanda est.^[0822D]

30.  Of the pagans who believe before baptism: how they receive penance.

CAPUT XXXI. De gentilibus qui ante baptismum credunt, quam poenitentiam habeant.

The sins of all are indeed remitted in baptism; but he who with a believing conscience lives for a time as an unbeliever is to be judged as a believing sinner. 

Remittuntur quidem omnium peccata in baptismo; sed quia cum fideli conscientia infidelem tempor.... vixit, ut fidelis peccator judicandus est.

Here ends the Synod of Patrick.

Finit Patricii synodus.